SAN JOSE -- One of the Sharks' most physical players will be back in the lineup for what's expected to be a bruising first-round series as forward Raffi Torres will play Thursday at home against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals.

Torres, who missed the last 17 games of the regular season as San Jose's coaches and medical staff sought to get him back close to 100 percent, skated on the Sharks' fourth line with Andrew Desjardins and Marty Havlat on Thursday morning.

Torres said he took it day-by-day for the last few weeks of the regular season as he tried to get his body back to where he felt he could play his normal physical style.

The Sharks' training staff "has done a great job getting me to where I am today," Torres said. "Just looking forward to getting out there."

Torres missed all but five games in the regular season after he had surgery in September to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament. He returned after the Olympic break and played in five of six games before he missed the rest of the regular season. Torres had three goals and two assists in his five games.

"I felt great," at the time, Torres said about his Feb. 27 return to San Jose's lineup. "Some people might say that it might have been a little too soon, but at the end of the day, I was coming off the break and was comfortable and feeling good, so there was really no reason not to play."

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Torres has played in 61 playoff games in his career with 25 points and 62 penalty minutes. He played in the first game of the Western Conference semifinals against the Kings last season, but was suspended by the NHL for the final six games of the series for a hit on Jarret Stoll.

"He's one of those players that can turn a game not necessarily with scoring a goal, but obviously a big hit," Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle said. "He plays with an edge that a lot of players don't. We were unfortunate to lose him last year because of the suspension. He should hopefully bring a spark to this team. It's something we can use."

Torres helped the Sharks sweep the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the playoffs last year, but his physical presence was missed as San Jose lost to the Kings in seven games.

"We were playing with some energy, we were playing with a strong forecheck game -- which he can be the leader of, never mind just a big part of, he can be the leader of that -- that comes out of the lineup, it affects our group and it probably affects the way (the Kings) think as well," McLellan said. "The same can be said as Jarret Still didn't return for a little while, either. The games were still fairly even."

With Torres' return, forwards Mike Brown, Bracken Kearns and Tyler Kennedy would appear to be healthy scratches. Defenseman Scott Hannan is also back in the lineup tonight, as he was paired with Boyle during the morning skate.

Forward Tomas Hertl, who returned to the lineup last Friday after a nearly four-month absence as he recovered from surgery to repair two ligaments in his right knee, skated on the third line Thursday morning with James Sheppard and Tommy Wingels. Rookie Matt Nieto was on the second line with Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau.

With Torres and Hertl back, McLellan has more options for the third and fourth line than he did for the series against the Kings last year.

With Torres and Hertl, "there's some risk because of their time off and their lack of playing time down the stretch," McLellan said. "but that's a risk we're prepared to take."